Henrik Lundqvist played well enough to lose and so did the Rangers. As such, call last night’s 4-3 shootout victory for the Islanders at the Garden, justice.

Actually, call it a life saver for the Islanders, who have remained afloat in the Eastern playoff chase almost exclusively because of their season-long dominance of the Rangers and Devils.

Indeed, last night’s victory fashioned by Wade Dubielewicz’ work in nets leaves the Islanders with a 9-2 record against their metro rivals, 4-1 against the Blueshirts, 5-1 against New Jersey.

The Rangers, meanwhile have larger issues than their 1-3-1 record against the Islanders as they prepare for tomorrow night’s rematch at the Coliseum.

True enough, they’re 7-0-3 in their last 10, 12-3-3 in their last 18 and only five points behind the conference- leading Devils, but their game seems to have frayed over the last week.

They’re winning – or at least, avoiding losing in 60 minutes – but it seems as if they’re surviving on muscle memory.

They’ve lacked crispness in their three games since the trade deadline, even in their victories in Carolina on Thursday and at home on Sunday in a shootout against the Flyers. They’re scrambling in their own end and appear disjointed through the neutral zone.

There’s no authority to their game.

And, perhaps most critically, there’s no sense of authority emanating from Lundqvist in nets. Goaltending was the one issue the Blueshirts never believed they’d have to confront this season. Well, they do now, just the way they have for large swatches of the schedule beginning in December.

For the second straight game, bouncing pucks confounded The King. Sunday, he was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots in 20 minutes. Last night, he allowed three goals on 10 shots in the first 25:10 before settling down, even if two glanced in off deflections.

Lundqvist, who has been beaten high with some regularity, has been beaten in close by players driving to the net in each of the last three games. He’s scrambling as much as his mates.

“It’s very frustrating when the puck bounces the way it did, but I can’t excuse myself because of bad bounces,” said Lundqvist, who may yield to Steve Valiquette tomorrow. “I have to be better. I wasn’t good enough.”

Lundqvist’s .907 save percentage appears reasonable, but it’s not. Fact is, the Rangers’ franchise goaltender came out of last night’s match with the 24th-best save percentage among NHL No. 1’s. Lundqvist’s save percentage over his last 10 games is .895.

Regardless of the Christian Backman Effect – Paul Mara is missed – there is no excuse for that.

There are no excuses in hockey. The Islanders’ injuries have been no excuse. Missing Rick DiPietro, who missed his second straight in the aftermath of his grandmother’s passing, wasn’t an excuse, either, for Ted Nolan’s plucky band.

The Rangers did rally from a 3-1 deficit early in the second to send the match into overtime and then the shootout. But after Nigel Dawes scored in the top of the second for a 1-0 lead, Billy Guerin came back to tie it in the bottom of the frame. Jeff Tambellini got the winner in the sixth round.